It's time to get Johnson more involved

AP File PhotoWhen Calvin Johnson's healthy, the Lions should put him in as their No. 2 receiver.

ALLEN PARK -- It's time for the kid gloves to come off.

The Detroit Lions coaching staff has protected the team's most proficient offensive weapon in the first three weeks of the regular-season schedule. His action on the field has been limited while he continues to learn the infinite nuances of offensive coordinator Mike Martz's mammoth playbook.

It's not quarterback Jon Kitna.

He remained on the field throughout the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles in last week's 56-21 loss, finishing with a meaningless franchise-record 446 yards through the air while getting sacked nine times.

It's not Pro Bowl wide receiver Roy Williams.

He caught nine passes for a career-high 204 yards, including a 91-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter against that Eagles that also marked a career best.

Nor is it running back Kevin Jones.

He returned to the lineup last weekend for the first time since suffering a foot injury that forced him to miss the final three games of last season and first two games this year. On his first snap from scrimmage, he plunged into the end zone from 2 yards out to tie the score at 7-7 in the first quarter.

The team's greatest offensive threat is rookie Calvin Johnson.

In three games, the imposing 6-foot-5, 239-pound wide receiver, picked No. 2 overall in the NFL draft, has averaged a team-leading 17.8 yards per play. Yet, he has been involved in just 11 total plays this season.

It's not nearly enough.

"I think the sky's the limit for him," Lions teammate Shaun McDonald said. "He's got great hands, he's a great athlete and he's got size and speed. He definitely has the talent. You're going to be doing a lot of big stories on him soon enough."

It all depends on the coaching staff.

Either coach Rod Marinelli or Martz -- or perhaps both -- have refrained from putting Johnson in the starting lineup while inexplicably insisting he has to earn his time on the field. Except what hasn't he proved?

A closer look at the numbers:

-- Johnson is a threat to score a touchdown every time he touches the football. He leads the team with 18.9 yards per reception and has run the ball once -- for a breathtaking seven-yard gain on a sweep -- in Week 2.

-- He has accumulated eight first downs in 11 plays (seven receptions, one run), including three first downs in the fourth quarter of a 20-17 overtime victory against the Minnesota Vikings in the Sept. 16 home opener at Ford Field.

-- He scored touchdowns in his first two NFL contests although he has seen little action in the first quarter of all three games and has had just 18 pass attempts from Lions quarterbacks thrown to him. That includes missing the second half of the Eagles loss with a back injury after making a spectacular 39-yard leaping catch high above two defenders in the second quarter.

It's that catch against the Eagles that helped Johnson earn the unflinching respect of his teammates for going up and plucking a ball out of the air in traffic.

"It was a great catch, an NFL catch," Kitna said. "He went up between two guys and caught it. It's a ball that not a lot of players would go up and get, but he got it. There's a lot of trust and respect there."

Johnson, who turned 22 on Tuesday, is questionable for today's game against the Chicago Bears. He had X-rays taken of his back following the Eagles game, but suffered no damage other than a bruise. He expects to be back on the field against the Bears.

"I'm all right," he said. "I just went up and got it and came down wrong, I guess. I smacked (the turf) pretty hard. I felt it right away. I've had injuries before, but nothing like this. I'm getting treatment for it and I'm doing better."

He's got the full respect of his teammates.

The coaching staff, however, seems to be another matter. It might be because he's just a rookie whom they feel hasn't fully earned his stripes in three games, but that sort of nonsense shouldn't apply to the second pick in the draft.

It's indisputable that Johnson is a playmaker.

Even if he's not up to speed on the entire playbook, he still has confirmed if Kitna puts the ball in his hands that good things will happen.

Isn't that enough?

The Lions, who went 3-13 last season, chose Johnson in the NFL draft although they had Williams, who led the NFC with 1,310 yards receiving, and Mike Furrey, who led the NFC with 98 receptions, last year.

Furrey pressed the Lions to pick Johnson.

He understood that it might relegate him to the third slot in the receiving corps, but he also understood it'd make the Lions a much more dangerous offense.